"I
just want to thank you
again for a fantastic seminar.
I am so excited to get
out and nail my next audition. The
lightbulb went on in the
first two hours of the
seminar. I stopped acting
and started feeling and
being. " -Kelly
Jo Horton

Dreams
DO Come True - A True Story
of Two LAVOIE Students

LA, we’re
HERE… We Are Home!

Those were the EXHILLIRATING
words of Connie and Erick Custodio
when their plane landed at the Burbank, California
airport and the momentum continues!!!

I am thrilled to say
as Connie and Erick’s acting coach and Life
Success Coach they are on a roll. After two years
of preparing to move to LA on June the journey
began to see if they would cut the mustard, stand
up to the “competition and demand” of
LA.

Not only did they stand
up to it…they raised the bar. Erick and Connie
shined! They are the LAVOIE ELITE. As their coach
I had a full two weeks of meetings, workshops, auditions,
interviews and appointments lined up for them. Now,
this could be rewarding or a disaster…what
if one of them did not make the cut and could not
attend the workshops? All actors must audition and
be accepted in...many have failed. What if one of
them or both of them crumbled under the pressure?
These where the questions I put before them before
taking off to LA…what if?

Now, I am a firm believer
in being POSTIVE!!! However, as a coach it is my
responsibility to ask the what if questions. Both
of them agreed, “no matter what the outcome
of the two week trip it would be life changing and
a great lesson and experience…moving to LA
is our dream…let’s see if we are ready…we
FEEL ready!!!” Of course I knew that they
were ready…but they had to believe it and BE
IT!

So off we went to LA
and WOW! did the doors of opportunity fly open!!!
All the preparation paid off!!! Here is what
Connie and Erick have to say. …(there is a
stretch in LA called Miracle Mile we drove almost
every day)

The
Miracle Mile by Erick Custodio

One would think it to be “just” a two week trip to L.A. Connie
and I felt so strongly that it would be a life changing two weeks as
we held our breath when the plane touched down on the Bob Hope airport
runway. The wheels squealed and we exhaled saying, “We’re
home.”
Two years ago I walked in to Karen’s Saturday workshop not knowing
at the time that this energetic, positive, spiritual whirlwind of a woman
would help me realize my dreams. Expecting to focus totally on acting
it came as a surprise when Karen had us work on goal setting. What does
this have to do with acting? Walking off that plane under the warm California
sun we knew then that it had everything to do with acting.

Everything we talked about, prayed about, prepared for and even dreamed
about for two years happened in a matter of a week. To see those
words written down when we thought it was just an exercise at the
time come to life right before our eyes was absolutely amazing.

Karen’s keen understanding of the fact that talent alone can take
you so far and that business savvy is a necessary tool for success in
the industry helped us get to where we are now. Not only were we ready
to perform in the L.A. market but we were ready to do business in the
L.A. market.

We made some awesome discoveries on our trip. Actually, Karen has been
telling us these things for a long time and it still amazed us to
hear it for ourselves. Casting directors want you to succeed. They
are thrilled to be able to say they gave someone their SAG card.
To feel that support bolstered our confidence in a major way. Another
thing is that hard work DOES pay off. So many people will try to
steal your dreams only because theirs were not realized.

We may have the talent, we may know the business, but without God the
success could not have come about. That is a very special thing Karen
brings to our acting. You have to have a Source that all this comes
from. You can set goals and you can work on your emotions. It is
equally important to ask, to accept with gratitude and to expect
these things to happen. That is the key. And that is what we did
for two years.

In the course of a few weeks, we wowed several casting directors and
producers, I was offered a job promotion to work in L.A., and we
were call out of the blue to house-sit for two months in L.A. We
had a tremendous amount of fun and we are grateful for more to be
had in our life in the City of Angels.

We would also like to thank Karen for everything she has done and for
seeing where we would be while we were struggling to get there. Miracles
do happen. You just have to thank God for them. -Ercik Custodio

Yes, anything
is possible with the right acting classes,
mentor, preparation, life coaching and faith in
God. Erick and Connie officially live in Burbank,
CA. I am still their acting
coach and Life Coach…I have my business set
up that way…students are given coaching for
as long as the desire is there!